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More often, in corporate hacking and cybercrime, it is the foot-soldier who is targeted. Low-level players are the only ones held to account. The weakest link in the corporate chain, the hacker, is charged, prosecuted, ordered to spend time in prison and left without a job.

The alternative is often too difficult to prove – especially in criminal cases – so the masterminds behind the hacking, and usually those who stand to benefit financially, escape scott free.

According to one expert in the field, management cannot be prosecuted unless a whistle-blower, or someone from within the organisation, is prepared to give evidence against them.

The issue has been thrust into the spotlight following a four-year investigation by The Australian Financial Review, which uncovered a secret unit within
Rupert Murdoch
’s
News Corporation
that promoted piracy and hacking in Australia that damaged rivals Austar, Optus, and Foxtel.

Hacking and piracy violates a number of Australian laws, both criminal and civil. Most criminal prosecutions to date have been brought under the commonwealth Criminal Code; and a perpetrator must be shown to have knowingly and intentionally broken the law.

Although this can be imputed and direct evidence is not needed, typically the lack of direct involvement by management in the pirating makes any case against them fraught with difficulty.

Many cases settle before trial after the accused enters a guilty plea, but in one case in Queensland, Vitek Boden was sentenced to two years behind bars after being convicted of 26 counts of using a restricted computer without the consent of its controller, thereby intending to cause detriment or damage.

Experts say another investigation under the same law is under way in Victoria.

Cybercrime is a niche area of the law, making key players hesitant to comment on the current debacle.

All experts contacted for this article requested that they not be identified by name.

The Australian Federal Police co-ordinate investigations and prosecutions in the cybercrime area, working with international counterparts and state police departments to track down hackers.

Perpetrators face up to five years behind bars for each hacking offence under the criminal code, although lawyers say it is likely the judge would consider some sentences could be served concurrently.

If the damage caused is more than $5000, a court can order 10 years behind bars.

The code prohibits unauthorised access to a computer, rather than a set-top box, but experts say the word would be given a wide definition to include pay TV hacking.

Hackers could also face two years behind bars for violations of the telephone interception act or the telecommunications act or be fined $6600 per offence under another criminal act called the Technological Protection Measures Act. This act has only been in place since 2006, and would not apply to any emails sent before this time.

Although easier to prove than some other white-collar crime offences, the number of prosecutions for hacking is not huge, although is tipped to grow. High-tech hackers are good at hiding their tracks.

For the pay TV competitors left out of pocket following piracy, there are other options.

Companies can bring a number of civil suits, including breach of copyright, breach of contract and confidential information.

Depending on the claim, they can ask for damages, equitable compensation or even an account of profits, which is all of the profit the hacker company gained from pirating smartcards.

This is what happened in the Mod Shop case. And while the hacker himself may not have had to pay up, ­Foxtel ended up with more than ­$1 million in the bank.